Darkness Calls
by SilverDaye
Summary: Anakin Skywalker has done the impossible, step away from being a Sith of the dark side in order to save his dying wife. However, he fails. He goes into hiding to keep not only himself but his children safe from Sidious. Sidious is enraged at losing his short-lived apprentice. Then he finds a new stand-in apprentice, the perfect pawn to draw out the hiding Skywalker.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary:** Anakin Skywalker has done the impossible, he stepped away from being a Sith of the dark side in order to save his dying wife. However, he fails. He goes into hiding to keep not only himself but his children safe from Sidious. Sidious is enraged at losing his short-lived apprentice. Then he finds a stand-in apprentice, the perfect pawn to draw out the hiding Skywalker.

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own Star Wars.

* * *

 **Chapter One**

* * *

 _Anakin!_

Again her voice haunted him. He could feel it. Her fear. Her pain. Anakin Skywalker gritted his teeth and continued to run along the base of the narrow Tatooine canyon. He just couldn't outrun her voice.

He stopped and placed his hand, his natural hand, alongside the canyon wall. He was shirtless and shoeless. His feet were blistered and bloody. He was sweaty and dirty, and his body heaved with heavy breaths. How long had he been running? Hours? Whenever he stopped her voice would be there. Followed by the anger. The pain. The darkness.

Suddenly he became aware of the slight tremor vibrating through the stone. Anakin reached out with the Force and quickly found his prey. He couldn't stop the smile that crept onto his lips. A canyon krayt dragon was a welcomed distraction. He pushed himself away from the wall and walked deeper into the canyon.

He didn't slow, didn't creep, or try in any way to mask his presence and approach. The large beast emerged from its den, hissing as it snaked out towards Anakin. Anakin stopped and unclipped his lightsaber from his belt.

 _Anakin!_

Again her voice screamed. Again her pain and fear echoed through him. Once again her voice had caught up with him. Anakin activated the saber. He rushed forward to meet the krayt dragon. Yet her voice never went away. Even after seven years, her voice was still there. He saw her on Mustafar. He saw her on the table on Polis Massa.

Anakin realized the krayt dragon was already dead. His saber was buried into the side of the beast's head near the eye.

"Tch," he hissed. Pathetic.

 _You're the pathetic one._ A dark voice said. _You had it all. Unlimited power. You threw it away! You walked from it!_

He pulled the saber out and slashed at the corpse. He slashed at it again. Again. And again. Blood sprayed across the canyon floor, across Anakin. Steam rose from the open wounds. Small chunks of the krayt dragon scattered across the canyon.

It was already dark when he walked back into his camp. It sat at the top of the canyon amongst some rocks that provided a natural overhang and shelter. His speeder sat off to the side where R2-D2 also waited. The droid beeped a greeting as its master returned. Anakin dropped a bloodied bag filled with krayt pearls as he walked passed a folded pile of his clothes and boots. He laid down on the ground. R2 beeped a question noticing the dried blood.

"It's not mine," Anakin responded. He let his arms splay out in the dirt. He stared at the rocky ceiling of the outcropping above. He could feel dark side calling to him. It whispered its sweet promises trying to lure Anakin back. It was hard to resist its callings. He had used the dark side of the force in the canyon. He had let his anger consume him. It was always so hard to step away from the dark side. It would be so easier to just stay in the darkness forever.

Footfalls crunched against the rocks. Anakin didn't move. He didn't even call upon the Force. He already knew.

"Please tell me you ran into a krayt dragon," Obi-Wan Kenobi said as he approached the camp. He drew his robes around him while staring at Anakin. Dried blood streaked across Anakin's exposed upper body and caked his pants. The state of Anakin's feet didn't go unnoticed from Obi-Wan either. They were scratched, bruised, and bloodied.

Anakin was silent and unmoving. Obi-Wan always found Anakin. No matter how far he ran or flew. The moment Anakin slipped into using the dark side, Obi-Wan was always there to make sure Anakin made it back out. Regardless of what Anakin said or did to Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan used his boot to probe at the bag with the dragon pearls in it. "It was just a krayt dragon this time?" Still no response. "Anakin?" Anakin could still feel his rage simmering. Obi-Wan's presence had made the anger start to boil again. "Let it go, Anakin." Obi-Wan's voice was calm, soft, and soothing. He took a seat a few feet away. "Let your fears go into the Force. Let your anger go."

Anakin slowly let out his breath. He pushed out his anger and fears. Felt them go into the Force. Yet the moment he breathed again he found the anger and fears were still there. Growing anew. He could cut off and throw out the stems, but the roots always stayed.

* * *

Obi-Wan just sat silently. He tried to keep as calm as he could. He took deep breaths and connected with the Force. Through it he could make out Anakin's emotions. There was great turmoil going through him. A lot of it anger, but there was also fear and grief. Obi-Wan knew the best to do was to just wait for Anakin to calm himself down.

He knew it wasn't easy for Anakin to step away from using the dark side. It was addictive and the withdrawals were hard. Anakin had already once completely given himself into the dark side. He had become a Sith, but then he had done the impossible. He stepped away from it. He returned to the light side of the Force. Yet that had not been the simple end of it.

Anakin sat up. Obi-Wan hadn't been keeping track of the time, but it was nearing dawn. Anakin stared off into the distance for a bit before he finally got up and walked to the edge of the canyon. He limped and flinched visibly from his injured feet. R2 beeped a concern at him, but it went unanswered.

"Seven years," Anakin said with grief in his words. "Seven years, Obi-Wan. I still can't escape the dark side. No matter what I do. No matter how much I mediate. No matter how much I call upon and use the light side. No matter how much _I let it go into the Force_. The darkness is always there. Always waiting."

"Do not belittle yourself, Anakin," Obi-Wan said staying seated allowing Anakin his space. "You have made great gains in seven years. You are not the man you were when you first started this. Yoda and I wish we could offer more help, but no other Jedi has crossed into the dark side to come back. It was thought to be impossible. It clearly is no easy task to free yourself from it."

"You have no idea!" Anakin shouted as spun towards Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan could feel the anger emitting off in waves from Anakin. Obi-Wan was used to these tantrums by now. At least now they were simply yelling. Seven years ago they had been much more physical. It used to take both Obi-Wan and Yoda to be present after Anakin stepped away from using the dark side of the Force.

"Calm yourself," Obi-Wan said trying to be an example of calm himself. Anakin stopped and took a ragged deep breath in. When they first came to Tatooine to hide, Anakin had been very hard to control. He would disappear and it would take days for Obi-Wan and Yoda to track him down. It would take days more for them to get Anakin to calm down and come back into the light side.

Anakin limped back and sat down. The tension seemed to be leaving his body. He dropped his head into his hands. Obi-Wan let out a small sigh of relief. Anakin was calming down.

"It's so hard, Obi-Wan," Anakin said into hands.

"I know. You should rest," Obi-Wan offered. Yet he braced himself for the oncoming argument.

"I can't," Anakin said still with his head buried into his hands. "You don't know what waits me there. The visions I see."

Obi-Wan actually had a pretty good idea, but he didn't voice this. Anakin himself had divulged the details of his nightmares at times. He would be back in the Jedi Temple surrounded by bodies or kneeling before Darth Sidious again. He would be on Mustafar or Polis Massa. He would hear his wife's dying cries.

"Then at least put yourself into a healing trance for your feet," Obi-Wan suggested. Anakin nodded. He laid down and closed his eyes. Shortly it appeared as if he had stopped breathing. Obi-Wan just watched. It felt like it was all he could do.

* * *

It was midday by the time Anakin pulled his speeder with R2-D2 in it up to the Lars Homestead. Obi-Wan was following behind in his own speeder. It had been a week since he had left. His feet were still sore, but he could walk without a limp. He also cleaned up and was properly clothed. Unlike Obi-Wan who still donned his Jedi robes, Anakin had quickly casted those aside seven years ago. He now settled for a belted and fitted leather tunic.

Anakin stepped out of the speeder. He enjoyed a quiet moment of the moisture farm, before he used the force to help R2-D2 out of the speeder. He heard shouting and laughter of children. It was followed by steps running up the stairs of the entrance of the homestead.

"Leia! Give it back!"

Anakin turned just in time to see his seven-year old daughter run out of the domed entrance. She held a small box above her head, while she kept glancing behind her. Shortly after her twin brother rushed out after her. They both wore loose white tunics and pants, common of the farmers in the area. Seeing his children, brought a smile to his face.

Yoda's words came to Anakin's mind. "Ground you to the light side of the Force, the children do." It was true. His children were the reason he always clawed himself away from the dark side time and time again. He could sense his children in the Force. They were strong, and their light was pure innocent, shining with the light side. As if sensing their father, the twins stopped simultaneously and looked over.

"Dad!" they both shouted. They ran over, large smiles on their faces. Anakin stepped forward, arms wide to receive his children. The children ran into his embrace, and the three hugged. Their blinding light in the Force seemed to chase the darkness away in Anakin. In these brief moments he was at peace and happy.

It had taken Anakin a long time before he felt like he was able to hold his children. His fear was too strong. What if he hurt them like he had their mother? What if he poisoned their pure light with his darkness? Part of the reason they had come to Tatooine was in hope of enlisting the aid of Anakin's step-brother and sister-in-law in help to raise the twins. In those early days, Anakin could not, and Obi-Wan and Yoda had their hands full dealing with Anakin.

Owen and Beru Lars had accepted their roles. They loved the children and raised them well. In those early days Anakin's mood swings varied greatly. At times he was at tears thanking the Lars, and at other times Obi-Wan was dragging an angry and raging Anakin out of the homestead.

Anakin kissed both his children on the head bringing him back to the present. Leia placed her small hand on her father's cheek. _How much she looks like her mother,_ Anakin thought. Leia had her mother's big brown eyes and brown curly hair. Anakin could sense a bit of sadness and concern coming from his daughter. Leia, like her brother, was strong in the Force.

As the twins had grown, their strength in the force had too. The two older Jedi had suggested to train them, and Anakin had angrily shot them down. At first Anakin had claimed harshly he wouldn't let the old masters use his children to regrow their lost ways. Use his children as he himself had been used. Yet over the years those fears had fallen away. What he really wanted was for his children to choose for themselves, and to have a full understanding of the choice of whether or not they wanted to be trained in the Force. They were still too young to make that decision.

Anakin stood up, grabbed his bag from the speeder, and made his way into the Homestead. His children were trailing on his heels. They were both talking at once, excitedly and fast, trying to tell their father of everything he had missed. Anakin smiled and nodded, but was only half listening. He found his way into his room and threw the bag on the floor. The children were now at the part in their story where Leia had stolen the hologram projector Luke had been tinkering with.

"Ah Anakin you're back." Anakin glanced at the doorway where Beru Lars stood. She wore the simple farm clothes, and her short hair a bit wind whipped. "Luke and Leia let's give your father some space." The twins protested. Beru continued, "He probably needs to clean up before dinner. Come, you two can help me with it." The two turned and looked at their father. He nodded in agreement, and they frowned a little.

"You can finish telling me all about your hologram projector at dinner," he offered. The twins seemed to accept the proposal and rushed out of the room pass their aunt. Beru lingered in the doorway for a moment longer. She smiled at Anakin, her eyes filled with warmth before she finally left.

Deep inside Anakin he only felt cold as his thoughts lingered on Beru's stare. As if he was weak and needed or wanted sympathy. How his children had easily gone off with her. _They love her more than you_ , the dark voice inside Anakin whispered. He could feel the coldness spreading. The imagine of him Force choking Beru entered his mind.

Obi-Wan stepped into the doorway, where moments before Beru had stood. He looked concerned as he studied Anakin. Anakin blinked and turned away. He felt shamed and heat spread across his face. It was quickly replaced with anger at once again how easily it was for him to slip into darkness.

* * *

 _Screams sounded all around Anakin. The smell of burnt flesh filled the air. He kept walking through the Jedi Temple stepping over bodies, many with lightsaber wounds. He turned and found himself on Mustafar. His pregnant wife stood on the landing platform in front of her ship. Her hands were up to her throat, her eyes wide. Then he her heard scream. He saw her on the birthing table. He held her hand as she called his name. Then there were the flames._

 _Anakin!_

Anakin awoke with start in his small bedroom in the Lars' home. He was covered with sweat. He could feel the dampness in the sheets of his bed. His sleeping shorts stuck to his legs. He got out of bed, threw on some clothes, and walked up the stairs to the exit. The night air was cool and dry and felt good against his hot skin. Anakin walked across the rocky sand until he found the three graves.

One for his step-father, another for his mother, and the last for his wife. Though the last was empty, it was something that Anakin felt like he needed to do. He had rationalized it was for the twins. It was something for them to connect with to their mother. Obi-Wan had said it was also for Anakin, a part of the grieving and healing process.

Anakin knelt down in front of his wife's grave. Her screams and calls from his dreams still fresh in his mind. He closed his eyes and once again the image of flames and explosions filled his mind.

 _You couldn't save her,_ a deep voice said behind him. Anakin didn't turn around. He knew no one was really there. Just his own phantom haunting him. It appeared as a man cloaked in a full bodied black robe with the hood drawn. The face was hidden in deep shadow.

 _You could have saved her! She didn't have to die!_ The voiced continued. _You had it all! You were becoming more powerful than any Jedi ever dreamed of._

Anakin kept his breathing even. He kept calm. Originally the specter had looked and sounded like Palpatine, Darth Sidious. That only enraged Anakin more. He would attack it, chase it, burn it out of his mind. Eventually it took Anakin's own form and voice. Anakin kept ignoring the ghost and felt through the Force. He quickly found his sleeping children's presence. He felt their light and took comfort in it.

 _Why live this way?_ You _could be emperor._ You _could have all the power._ Your _children wouldn't be living in poverty loving some poor farmer and his wife. Your children should love_ you _. They are yours._

Still Anakin looked at the grave. He hadn't reacted at all to the voice. He felt no anger, no remorse or grief. He knew the voice was simply his own inner voice. His own voice bringing forth his own dark thoughts.

 _Why did you leave me?_

Anakin jumped a bit. The voice had changed. It was no longer his voice, but her's. His wife's.

 _Anakin! Why did you leave me?_ The voiced pleaded. _Come back to me Anakin!_

Anakin closed his eyes and clenched his hands into fists. He knew his wife to be long dead. It was all a ploy. His own desires trying to bring him back into the folds of the dark side. How deceitful he could be towards himself. The voice carried on in her voice, calling out his name and pleading to him to come back. He knew if he turned around the robed figure would be smaller, more feminine in nature.

"Anakin?" the voice of Obi-Wan called out. The real voice of a real person.

Anakin took in a gasp of air. He turned around to find nothing of a cloaked ghost, just Obi-Wan who once again was there to make sure Anakin didn't fall to the calls of the darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

* * *

The rain continued to patter outside the house. The grey light outside made the inside of the house poorly lit, but Ahsoka Tano didn't need much light to tell what happened here. The walls were covered in streaks of burn marks. Broken and burned furniture laid scattered about. The smell of burnt flesh filled the air.

Ahsoka made her way through the house back towards the entrance. There was nothing else she could do. She kept her eyes forward, not glancing back down at the three mutilated corpses in the room. The bodies had been torn apart by a lightsaber. An arm laid casted aside in a corner. Some blood was cast about on the floor when the fight had gone beyond lightsabers.

Ahsoka cursed herself. Her intelligence had been too slow. She had come to Cilpar in attempt to save a Jedi and padawan who were in hiding on the planet. Ahsoka's sources had informed her that the Empire had discovered the hiding Jedi. Ahsoka had hoped to be one step ahead of the Imperials, but she was too late. It appeared as if the Imperial Inquisitors got there first. They killed the Jedi, the padawan, and the homeowner. The lightsabers were missing, but the bodies remained as warning to all who came upon them.

The pain and fear from the fallen still stained the Force. Ahsoka couldn't help her own pain and grief from growing within her. She wanted to give them a proper burial, but knew she couldn't stay. The battle was too fresh. It had happened within the last day. Imperial agents could still be watching. Ahsoka needed to leave.

As she left the house, she pulled the hood of her cloak over her head to shield herself from the rain and any prying eyes. She reached out into the Force but found no one near by, but that didn't mean she wasn't being watched. The house had been situated on the side of a forested mountain. The terrain had made it hard to see and access from the air. Ahsoka had a bit of a walk back to where she had hid her ship.

She made her way through the forest and the rain. Her mind kept circling back to the house, the bodies, and her own failure to get there fast enough. The Jedi were being hunted down to extinction. Every lost was heartbreaking. Ashoka had been working with a few groups in efforts to save any Jedi they could.

Suddenly she felt a warning through the Force. She stopped and instantly took a step back, just barely missing the red blade that slashed at the spot where she previously stood. Ahsoka immediately took several small leaps backwards while she pulled out her two lightsabers and activating them.

She got a good look at her attacker. The attacker wore all black, a mixture of robes and armor. A box was attached above the belted waist with lights and switches. The head was covered by a helmet and mask, both black and shiny. The mask was skull like with two large eye lenses and a triangular mouth.

Yet the attacker was also small. About the same size of Ahsoka. Yet size didn't matter. Ahsoka could feel the dark side from the attacker. Hatred snaked out from them in tendrils through the Force. This was no Inquisitor. This was a Sith.

The Sith had given Ahsoka only a small moment before it went on the offensive again. It dashed towards the Jedi, bringing down its red lightsaber with fast strikes. At first Ahsoka was on the defensive, but quickly found the movement of the Sith a bit predictable. This Sith didn't seem all that experienced Ahsoka noted. She changed her stance and went on the offense.

The battle switched pace as the two continued their duel through the rainy forest. Now Ahsoka was pressing the Sith back. However, it wasn't to last long. The Sith did seem inexperienced, but it was a fast learner. Already the Sith was improving on its own stances. Its strikes were becoming more honed as it got used to Ahsoka's own style.

Ahsoka knew that this duel would not go in her favor if it went on for much longer. The Sith didn't seem to tire, in fact the blows seemed to have gotten stronger. Ahsoka went in for a strike, feinting with her right blade to bring her left blade up from below to strike the Sith unguarded. Yet the blade never made contact, instead Ahsoka was suddenly thrown through the branches from a strong Force blow.

She slammed into a massive tree. The wind was knocked out of her. Her sabers fell to her side as she struggled to catch herself from slamming into the ground. She had barely any time to collect herself before she could feel the heat of a lightsaber near her head. She glanced up to see the Sith holding the red blade mere inches from her face.

"Tell me, Jedi, where are the rest of your kind hiding?" a deep voice mechanical and distinctly female voice said.

This pause in the fighting was all Ahsoka needed. She collected the Force to her and called forth a force blow towards the Sith. The Sith was only knocked a fraction off balance, but it was all Ahsoka needed to collect her own lightsabers and stand up. The Sith regained herself and turned back towards Ahsoka with a growl coming through the mask.

But suddenly the Sith stopped. Ahsoka could sense the surprise coming off the other. Ahsoka reached out into the Force, especially behind her, to see what had stopped the Sith's attacks. Yet it was still just two of them.

"Ah- Ahsoka?" the Sith said uncertainly.

Ahsoka couldn't help but be surprised as well. She realized her hood had fallen off her montrals, revealing her face. The way the Sith had said Ahsoka's name, it sounded like she knew her. Yet Ahsoka didn't answer.

"Ahsoka?" The Sith asked again. She could feel the slimy feel of the dark side of the Force probing against her. She heard the audible gasp of the Sith. "Ahsoka!" It was not a shout of happiness, but anger. The Sith rushed forward, her blade striking at the Ahsoka.

The former Jedi was surprised. The Sith attacked with a new found speed and power. Ahsoka was forced on the defensive.

"Where is he?" the Sith shouted between strikes. "Where is he? Where is he?" she repeated over and over. Yet Ahsoka wasn't sure who she was talking about. Then Ahsoka found she was too slow in parrying a strike, and the red saber sliced down along her right arm. Ahsoka screamed and fell to one knee, yet she took pride in herself at not dropping either saber. Yet before she could stand, the Sith had come up to her and kicked over with a force-backed kick.

The black clad Sith stood over Ahsoka with one foot pressing down on her chest. Yet it felt like her entire body was being crushed into the ground. The dark side of the Force was all around her. She was finding it hard to breath.

"Tell me where he is?" the Sith angrily demanded.

"I- I don't- don't know- who you are-," Ahsoka said between gasps of air.

"Anakin! Anakin Skywalker! Your master! Where is he?" the mechanical voice shouted.

Ahsoka was suddenly breathless. She tried her best to take in deep breaths of air, but could only seem to get small breaths in. They were too small.

"Ana- Anakin is dead!" she managed to spit out.

"No!" The pressure on top of Ahsoka pushed down harder. She opened her mouth to scream as her body was crushed, but no sound came out. The Sith continued, "He is not dead! Now tell me where he is!"

Ahsoka's body heavied in attempts to get in more air. Yet through all of this she could once again feel the probes of the Sith entering her mind. Ahsoka at first tried to push it away, but then decided not to. The Sith was looking for Anakin Skywalker, so Ahsoka threw everything she knew about the man out at the Sith. What did it matter? Her former master had been dead for seven years now.

The pressure suddenly disappeared. The Sith had taken a step back.

"What?" the deep voice said. "So you don't know where he is?"

Ahsoka didn't wait for the Sith to finish. She pulled the Force to her and lashed out at the creature. With a powerful Force blow, the Sith went flying into the forest. Ahsoka didn't stop channeling the Force, as she called upon it to fell a large nearby tree. It crashed into the Sith. Ahsoka took the opportunity to make it back to her ship.

As the ship took off, Ahsoka looked back down into the rainy forest. At the edge of the clearing where her ship had been, stood the masked Sith. Her cloak flapped in the wind and the red saber was still ignited. Suddenly the red light disappeared, and the figured turned around. She disappeared back into the forest.

* * *

Two days later Ahsoka sat in her bunk aboard the _Restitution_ , a hammerhead corvette. She was peeling off the bacta patches from her right arm where the Sith's lightsaber had burned her. A pale scar was still noticeable running down her arm. Ahsoka ran her left hand along the scar. Though the arm was still slimy with bacta, she could feel the raised skin.

It had only been a few months since she had joined Organa's rebellion movement. She hadn't planned on being so physically involved. The original plan was to manage Organa's intelligence network. Yet when Ahsoka heard of the two Jedi being targeted on Cilpar, there were no agents who could act fast enough besides herself.

Over the past two days Ahsoka had spent as much time as she could gathering information on this new Sith. The Sith went by the name of Darth Vader and had only shown up a few months ago. She was a personal agent of Emperor Palpatine. Already she had been dispatched to a few planets to squash any growing rebellions. She had been very successful, and the body count was high.

Ahsoka had to dig for this information and only a few blurry holograms of the new Sith existed. The Empire was being very quiet about their new attack dog so far. Probably not to alert other rebel cells or hiding Jedi. Though that wasn't the detail that bothered Ahsoka the most. It was the fact the Sith had wanted to know about Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka's former Jedi master.

When Ahsoka had reported this detail to Senator Bail Organa, he grew quiet. He finally mentioned it was indeed a troubling detail, but then he turned the conversation. It was clear he didn't want to talk about it. Ahsoka wasn't satisfied with that answer. She knew she shouldn't have hacked into Organa's personal communications. Yet one outgoing message caught her eye. It used her rebel cell's frequencies and codes. The call went out to Senator Mon Mothma.

 _Why send a message to another senator via coded Rebel frequencies?_ Ahsoka wondered. She rationalized with herself that she was only doing her job as the intelligence manager to look into this message. Was there more to this rebellion cell than Organa was letting on? She opened the call and listened to the recording. There was no holograms to go with it, only the audio.

It became clear that Mothma was also working with her own rebellion cell. The two talked about Ahsoka's visit to Cilpar and her run in with Darth Vader.

"The Sith asked about Skywalker?" Mothma asked. "What do you think that means?"

"I'm afraid it's another ploy of the Emperor," Organa replied. _Ploy?_ Ahsoka asked herself. "I had hoped he had given up on trying to find Skywalker. It's been seven years. However, as long as the Emperor thinks Skywalker is still alive, he won't give up."

Mothma sighed. "So what game is the Palpatine playing at this time? Use a Sith to lure Skywalker out?"

"What?!" Ahsoka shouted aloud. She jumped up. _Anakin was alive? How could that be?_ Her thoughts raced. At first she thought perhaps the Emperor still thought Anakin was alive, but it was clear Mothma and Organa thought the same as well. She realized she had missed some of the recording, so she rewound it back.

"Possibly," Organa said. "It's clear this new Sith is targeting Jedi. Ahsoka was questioned by the Sith about Skywalker's whereabouts. So it's possible this Darth Vader is trying to hunt down Skywalker. Hoping another Jedi knows where he is."

"Perhaps we should warn Kenobi and Yoda," Mothma suggested. _Obi-Wan and Yoda?_ She knew the two Jedi masters were still alive and hiding. Both each had a substantial bounty of their heads. Yet Ahsoka herself had no idea where the two were hiding.

"No," Organa quickly dismissed the suggestion.

"They need to be alerted. If you don't want to risk any of your agents, you could always tell me their location-"

"No," Organa said much more sternly. "I'm sorry Mothma but I won't give away the location where they are hiding. Plus this is probably what Palpatine and that Darth Vader are waiting for. They're probably watching for the rebel cells to make their move. Kenobi and Yoda are smart. They've stayed hidden for seven years. It's best we just let them stay hiding with Skywalker."

Mothma agreed and the two went on to talk about the movements of Darth Vader and the Empire. Ahsoka turned the recording off. Her head was spinning. What did this all mean? She had thought for the past seven years that Anakin had died, but now it turns out he hadn't. Organa knew this but didn't tell her. Why?

On the birth of the Empire, Order 66 had been carried out due to the claims of the Jedi wanting to take over the Senate. There had been assassination attempt on Palpatine by the Jedi. It was reported that it was Anakin Skywalker who saved the soon-to-be Emperor. The reports went on to say that it was Skywalker who led troops into the Jedi Temple on Coruscant to purge the new-found Empire of the evil Jedi.

Ahsoka couldn't believe the news when she heard it. There was no way her master would have betrayed the Order like that. Yet as Ahsoka had joined Organa, she heard reports from surviving Jedi of the purge. They said they had indeed witnessed Skywalker killing off the Jedi in the temple including younglings.

The reports went on to say that Skywalker, the one true loyal Jedi, went to Mustafar and killed the Separatists leaders. He had officially and finally ended the war. However, it was there that Skywalker met with his old master Kenobi. The two dueled, Skywalker was killed and Kenobi escaped. The new Emperor publicly mourned the loss of Skywalker, calling him a great ally to the Empire.

Ahsoka could clearly recalled watching the hologram of the robed Emperor standing on a balcony in Coruscant giving the speech. The Emperor then called forth for not only the head of Kenobi, but for all Jedi. He said the Jedi were corrupted and no longer to be trusted after killing off the beloved hero who had ended the war and saved the Emperor's life.

 _If Anakin was still alive, then he could clear his name!_ From what Ahsoka had gathered from the message between Organa and Mothma, Anakin was in hiding with Master Obi-Wan and Yoda. Clearly Obi-Wan hadn't killed Anakin. A great sense of relief spread through Ahsoka. She always knew it had been lies of the Empire about Anakin.

 _So why was this Darth Vader hunting down Anakin?_ Ahsoka thought. _Well if he shows up alive, and against the Empire that might not look all that good. He was the posterboy hero and martyr of the Empire. The Emperor can't put a public bounty on his head._

Ahsoka couldn't help but wondering why Anakin was still in hiding. Why wasn't he working with Organa in his rebel cells? He was an ace pilot and commander. Even if he was under disguise, his talents would be very useful. Ahsoka wondered if there was a piece to all of this she was missing. What had actually happened to Anakin on the birth of the Empire?

Regardless Ahsoka found a new reason to delve into her job. When Anakin was ready to come out of hiding, she would be ready. If he was to come back out publicly, she would be there with him to reveal the lies of the Empire.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

* * *

Darth Vader gritted her teeth as the droids activated the neural links of her prosthetics. It was not an enjoyable experience. Yet the artificial limbs needed maintenance. With the prosthetics reattached, Vader got off the table. She wore only simple black under garments. The droids went off to collect her suit.

The room was specifically designed for her and super oxygenated, so she could breath without the use of a respirator. She walked over to a corner. The room had a bacta tank and a large table in the middle. The rest of it was mostly various machines, droids, and tools used in the maintenance of her limbs and suit. A shiny cabinet caught Vader's reflection. She stopped and stared at it.

In a different lifetime she had once gone by the name Padmé Amidala Skywalker, but that woman was long gone. Only a ghost remained of her. Instead there stood Darth Vader, a Sith apprentice. She had three silver metal prosthetic limbs: two legs and her right arm. Her skin was pale, translucent almost. Her hair was kept shorn. It was easiest due to constantly wearing the helmet. Her eyes were a bit shrunken with heavy purple shadows around them. Most alarmingly were her actual eyes, which were now yellow.

Vader caught the site of the burn scars. They started on her right cheek, near her mouth, and traveled down the rest of the right side of her body. They were pale pink and ragged. The fire had consume her right side, causing the lost of her right limbs. Her own reflection disgusted her. She called upon the Force and smashed the reflective wall. Sparks fell out from the machinery hidden behind it.

She stormed back over to the middle of the room to the waiting droids. She was placed into her suit. Once the helmet had sealed itself, she marched out of the room. She hated that room. It was stained with her own emotions: fear, anger, guilt, disgust. She stalked through the dark labyrinth of corridors of Darth Sidious's secret underground palace. It existed under his normal palace on Imperial Center. Few other beings, whether organic or droid, walked the corridors.

Darth Vader found herself in the training wing. She followed the corridor till the door at the end. She opened it and was on the second level of a large rectangular training room. The second level viewing balcony wrapped around the edges of the room. It allowed those on the second level to watch those training below at any angle.

The room below was filled with battle droids. Amongst the droids were the children. They fought the droids. Some used red lightsabers, others used blasters, and others were forced to be more creative with their weaponery. One set of children were sparring with each other using only their fists. Scattered amongst the children were a few adults, mostly Inquisitors, and a few non-battle droids.

Darth Vader always felt pulled into this room. She felt pulled to watch the children though mere puppets and pawns of her master. When she first discovered the wing and the children, there had been more children. But the flock had been whittled down. Now only about a dozen remained. All the children were force sensitive, stolen from their families who were often murdered afterwards. They were being trained to be loyal pawns of the Emperor.

Though she didn't like to admit it, Vader knew why she kept coming here. They reminded her of her lost children. She wondered if they would be in here, literally fighting for their lives day in and day out. Would they be brainwashed into absolute loyalty to Sidious? Thinking of the man, her master, caused anger to burn through her.

How she loathed the man. Hated him. The dark side of the Force swirled in her and welcomed the hatred. It was what fueled her forward. Everything in her life was to be blamed over Sheev Palpatine, Darth Sidious. From the loss of democracy, to her husband, and children. As well as the loss of herself. The person known as Padmé.

She turned and marched out of the large training room. She found an empty private training room instead. She summoned the battle droids and drew her own red saber. She needed something to channel her hatred into. It was the first time she had wielded her saber since her fight with Ahsoka Tano on Cilpar.

How the outcome of that fight had displeased her master. How dare she let Tano get away? The discipline had not been pleasant. Her master had used the Force to slam her to the ground and then used Force lightning to tear through her. It was due to her master's merciful hand, as he himself had called it, that she was placed into the bacta had been _allowed_ to heal so fully.

She projected the image of Sidious onto the battle droids. Yet she took no joy in slashing them down, tearing them apart, slamming them into the walls and floor, or deflecting their own lasers at each other. She had tried to kill Sidious on more than one occasion. Each time she had failed. Her latest attempt had resulted in the loss of her left leg. Sidious had only laughed as he stood over her. She had yet to try again, but she would. She wouldn't rest until Sidious was dead. For now she just bided her time. She would learn all she could from the man, until she was strong enough or the lucky chance presented itself.

 _What you really need is Anakin's help. You'll never be strong enough to defeat Sidious. You were never meant to be a force sensitive._

Vader screamed at her own thoughts as she drove her red lightsaber into a battle droid. Sparks showered down around her. Yes she was highly aware she was not Anakin. She had not been born a force sensitive. She would never be as talented as the _Chosen One_ , and her master never let her forget this. Sidious only saw Vader as a pawn to lure Anakin back to him. Sidious was obsessed with Anakin and finding him.

"Anakin Skywalker was _mine_. _I_ was the one who willed the force to create Skywalker. _I_ was the one had patiently manipulated him for years. Until finally I had _my_ sith, my perfect Darth Vader." She could clearly recall Sidious' words.

She couldn't keep the memories back. The dark side brought them forth. It made her angrier. It made her more connected to the Force.

She was once again strapped to a table in a dark, empty cell. Her right arm and leg gone, but her left leg still there. The right side of her body ached and burned. Her lungs struggled to breath the air. The person who she had knew Sheev Palpatine would enter the chamber and began the torture. His favorite was striking her with Force lightning, especially in his anger.

"Call to him," Sidious would hiss at her through her screaming. "Call to him! Call your Anakin to you!" Yet Anakin never came. Sidious' torture only got worse.

She remembered the specific day that had changed everything. Back then she hadn't realized she been kept prisoner for two years already. The session had started out normal, with Sidious casting Force lightning onto her. Then he stopped and walked over to her left side. He let his fingers just barely brushing against her leg. He moved up her body, his fingers softly trailing along with him.

How she had flinched and tried to move away from him. Though he was touching her unburned side, his fingers burned her like acid where they touched her skin. It left a path of a stinging sensation in its wake. She sucked in a breath.

"If you want a more loving touch, just say his name," Sidious said darkly. His tone deep and promising. "Call his name! Bring him here."

She clenched her teeth and turned her head away from Sidious.

"You know he left you," he hissed. "Abandoned you. He's not coming. Your sweet knight. Your _Ani_."

"No," she said weakly. "No."

Sidious snarled. He was disgusted with her. Tired, annoyed, and angered that no matter how many times he had projected her screams into the Force, Anakin had yet to come. Sidious was only keeping her alive as bait for his lost apprentice, and as she later figured as a tool to push him back into the dark side.

"Why would he come back here for you?" Sidious continued. "What do you have for him anymore?" She continued to shake her head from side to side mumbling no under her breath. "You lost your baby. Your youth. Your beauty. Your position." She shook her head faster, her no's getting louder.

"Quite pathetic really. I'm sure he's moved on to something better. Now that he's free of the Jedi Council. He's young, good looking, _promiscuous_. Why waste his time coming here? They are plenty of others out there he can bed. Plenty of others he can love."

Sidious forced the emotions of lust and desire into her along with sounds of sexual moaning. "No!" Padmé was now almost shouting.

"I'm sure by now he's found some beautiful woman to make his own that he doesn't have to sneak around with. Hide their relationship from everyone. Someone who is there for him every night. Someone who can give him a child."

Sidious gripped onto her arm. She heard the sound of a crying baby.

"No!" Padmé shouted. Her eyes were closed fighting back the unwanted imagery the sounds created. Sidious laughed. He bent down so he was next to her ear.

He whispered, "Don't worry when he finally returns to my side, you can see him again. See him as he looks at you with disgust. As he casts you aside. _Kills_ you himself."

"NO!" She couldn't take any more. It wasn't the first time she had heard these words from Sidious, but she was finally at a breaking point. She had taken every bit of strength within her and pushed it out with those words. She would defy him until the bitter end. She found herself taking deep breaths, suddenly heavily exhausted.

It was quiet for a long while until Sidious returned back into her sight. Her gripped her left arm tightly. She squirmed in pain. He pulled his face closer. His yellow eyes glowing in hatred. A ring of red pulsed from his pupils.

"What was that?" he hissed through clench teeth. "How was that possible?" Pain shot through her arm where he grabbed her. She let out a scream. "You shouldn't be force sensitive. You have never been force sensitive before!" She wasn't sure what he was talking about. Another shot of pain tore through her arm. It shot through her whole body.

"It's impossible!" Sidious shouted. Again the pain rippled through her. She could no longer scream. Her voice no longer capable of making sounds. Sidious let go of her arm.

"Hmmm," she heard him muse. "Perhaps . . . Perhaps once again the Force was answering my desires. The Force bending the galaxy to _my_ whims. Perhaps it was the child you had carried. The Chosen One's child had to be strong in the force as well. Perhaps something had transferred into the mother. Though completely unheard of."

Sidious laughed. She could only cringe at the sound.

"I suppose it matters not!" he said. He sounded happy. "What a beautiful pawn you've truly become!"

Back in the present, Darth Vader deactivated her lightsaber. All the battle droids had been destroyed. She clipped the saber back to her belt. Sparking bodies and parts lay scattered around the room. Vader turned and left the room, her cloak billowing behind her. She clenched her hands into fists. She had no choice in becoming a Sith.

Sidious used whatever means he could to force her to accept the dark side of the Force. How cruel he had been. His favorite method were children, especially babies. They would be placed beyond her reach, crying.

"You can save them," Sidious would say from behind her. "You have the power."

There was always some obstacle in way. Battle droids. Troopers. Traps. Blasters. Sidious himself. The child never survived, even if she had managed to actually get there before anything happened to it. Sidious would always kill it in her arms. Each time her hatred at him grew. Her hatred of herself grew. She couldn't keep do this anymore. She couldn't become a Sith. She had tried to kill herself, but Sidious wouldn't even allow that.

"You are _mine_ ," he said. His hands grabbed her chin pulling her to his face. That's when he started using the drugs. She would blackout and come to covered in wounds and blood. The drugs were brainwashing her. Making her body act without her. That's when she realized she was truly going to lose herself.

So she steeled herself. She buried the part that was Padmé. If she wanted to live, she would have to become a Sith. She let her hatred of Sidious fuel her. Thus she had tried to kill him. Each attempt Sidious would laugh and say she was doing well in letting the dark side consume her.

 _Now I am a Sith_ , she told herself sadly. She found her way back to her personal chambers. There wasn't much to it. A hyperbaric chamber stood in one room, while the other was her personal office. A large desk sat in a corner with several datapads littered across it. The room had no decorations.

She walked over to the desk and picked up a datapad. Nothing new about the locations of Kenobi, Yoda, or . . . Skywalker. A few months ago Sidious had summoned her.

"What is your bidding, my master?" she asked through her mask bending on one knee. She could feel Sidious pleasure at seeing her kneel and be subservient to him.

"Your training is complete, my apprentice," he said. "I believe it is now time for you to go out and make the galaxy aware of you."

"Yes, my master," she replied.

"Perhaps you will finally find that wayward husband of yours. I'm sure you'll be delighted to rip that information out from any Jedi you come across."

"Yes, my master."

Yet she hadn't found Anakin. She took some solace in knowing that neither had Sidious. The moment he had Anakin again, she was sure to know it. Sidious would dispose of her. The Sith rule of two meant there would be no need of her anymore. She was never meant to be a true apprentice anyways. Only the stand-in. She hadn't even been given her own Sith name. Instead she had been given Anakin's name, Darth Vader.

"Let's see how enjoys it," Sidious said. "Let's see if we can finally drag him out."

Thinking of Anakin brought a mix of emotions. On one side she longed to see him. She prayed he was safe. She prayed he never left his hiding spot. She still remembered the last time she saw him. She lay on the birthing table, her breathing ragged. She had just given birth, and Anakin held her hand.

"She's fading," the med droid had said.

"No," Anakin said. "She can't die." He looked at her. "I've tried everything! I'm just not powerful enough."

"Anakin . . ." she replied softly. She wanted to tell him it was ok. He didn't need any more power. He bent over and kissed her head.

"Wait here, my love. I'm going to get our children. They should be here with you." He squeezed her hand and then left. That was the last time she ever saw him. The next thing that happened was the explosion and the flames.

Even that was to be blamed on Sidious. He tracked Anakin down to Polis Massa after Sidious felt his force bond with Anakin break. Sidious was furious that Anakin had walked away from the dark side, and ordered the ship to fire at the medical facility. Sidious assumed the Chosen One would survive, but if he didn't so be it. The Chosen One did indeed survive, Sidious felt it in the Force. Yet he hadn't fallen back into the Sith's hands. Instead he had escaped with Kenobi.

"He left you and the corpse of your newborn child," Sidious had told her.

 _Child, not children_. No matter what, Sidious always talked about a child. Singular. He didn't know. He didn't know she had had twins. Sidious didn't know what exactly had happened on Polis Massa. It was the only small hope she had that Anakin had escaped with their children. It was why he had never come for her in the past seven years. It was the only thing that would hold him back from her.

 _Is that really true?_ The darkness would call from inside her. _Do you really think that's what he's been doing all this time? He left you here. Left you here to that man's whims. You've been tortured. Turned into a monster. Why? All because of Anakin._

The dark side of the Force's tendrils seem to wrap around her. Cocoon her. Though breathing through the mask, it felt like she was breathing in the dark side. She welcomed it. The hatred raged. Yes, she hated Anakin. Hated him for leaving her here. Abandoning her here.

 _Seven years he stole from you,_ the voice would say. _If your children live, it's seven years they've been without you their mother. You've missed them learn to walk and talk. They don't know your love. They don't even know you at all._

Anger, hate, betrayal burned through her. It became so hot, that it was suddenly like ice. The datapads on her desk went flying out and shattered into the walls.

She hated not knowing the truth. She wanted answers. She would find Anakin. Yet there was one mistake that Sidious had made. Anakin wasn't his. Anakin was _hers_.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

"Face Sidious and win, even if you do. To the dark side you may fall," Yoda said.

"Master Yoda is right, Anakin," Obi-Wan joined in. "If you fight Sidious in your anger, you could easily fall into the dark side. I'm not sure if you would make it out again. It would be Sidious' ultimate win to have you as a Sith again."

"Too easy for you to fall to the dark side, it is," Yoda continued. "Push you over even the simplest things do. Into anger. Into the dark side. Master this you must, before you face Sidious."

Anakin Skywalker sat meditating. He had never been one for meditating, especially since the death of his wife ten years ago. Anakin just had a hard time staying still. That's when the voices and visions came. It had gotten gradually better over the past ten years. The visions and voices happened less and less. Anakin was able to control his emotions better. He hadn't slipped into the dark side in months now.

Yet the dark side was always lurking. In Anakin's mind it felt like oil and water. The two sides of the Force didn't intermingle, one floating just beyond the other. It wouldn't take much to dip into the otherside.

Anakin took a deep breath and opened his eyes. He stood up and stretched. He looked around the large cavern Yoda made as his home. Obi-Wan had found a home for himself that overlooked the Western Dune Sea. Yoda had opted to settle nearby in a cave in the Jundland Wastes. The ancient Jedi had invited Anakin into his home two months back.

While Anakin had been in the cave several times before, he had never been invited. There had been a few times he had been dragged here against his will by the two Jedi. They used it as a safe place to let Anakin come back from the dark side whenever he slipped into it. Then there had been the times when Anakin came here on his own accord due to what else lay in the large cavern.

Taking up about half the space of the cavern sat the _Twin Suns_ , an Alderaanian starship yacht. It had been given to the Jedi after they had fled Polis Massa. Bail Organa had gifted it to them. Obi-Wan was the one to name it. Anakin knew not if it was named after the two suns of Tatooine or after his children. All that really mattered was it was ship.

There had been times when Anakin had slipped into the dark side when all he wanted to do was to run away. There were other times when his memories lashed out at him and anger boiled inside of him. His darkness called to leave the planet and face Sidious at once. Luckily, there was an excellent ship nearby for him to take. There was only one problem that kept him from succeeding in this goal. Obi-Wan and Yoda had completely taken out the controls of the ship.

It was not something that could be easily fixed. Anakin had tried. Yet Obi-Wan and Yoda would always find him before he could make any major headway replacing the controls. But now Anakin had been invited into the cave. He was allowed to work on the ship. Just simple maintenance and upkeep for the ship on the condition he meditate and train in the light side with Yoda.

Anakin had willingly accepted. He felt it was a sign that he was finally getting close enough to be able to face Sidious. He would finally be free from the call of the dark side. Anakin knew he would never be completely free until Sidious was dead. He held too much anger for the man. That anger fed the dark side. Until Sidious was dead, that anger would remain. Anakin secretly feared that even after Sidious was gone, that the fear would never leave.

Anakin walked over to Yoda's makeshift home. It sat on the opposite wall from the ship. It wasn't much. A small bed, a small kitchen, and some chairs. Yoda sat quietly in one of the chairs.

"Started training the younglings, Obi-Wan tells me you have," Yoda said as soon as Anakin sat down in a chair.

"Not exactly," Anakin replied. "It's just meditating." Anakin swore Yoda let out a small laugh, but it could have also been a cough.

"Know your feelings on training them, I do," Yoda said. "Teach them to shield their presence we must. Find them the Sith should not, hmmm?"

Anakin sighed. Yoda wasn't wrong. Yet Anakin still held onto the idea that the twins should be able to choose for themselves on whether or not to be trained as Jedi. Anakin hadn't started training them, at least not in the ways Yoda was thinking. In truth it was more happenstance than anything else.

After Anakin had made his deal with Yoda in order to work on the starship, Anakin had split his time between Yoda's cave and the Lars farm. He still spent most of his time on the farm with his children. While he was there he was to meditate everyday per Yoda's request. Reluctant at first, Anakin set about keeping up his end of the deal.

It was during the second week that one time he came out of his meditative state to find Leia sitting next to him. His ten-year old daughter looked to be meditating, but Anakin could easily read through the Force she was not. Anakin let a small laugh. Leia opened her eyes immediately and smiled at her father. Anakin couldn't help but smile back at her.

"What exactly are you doing?" Anakin asked her.

"I'm meditating with you," Leia said rather proud of herself.

"Do you even know what meditating is?" he asked.

"Aunt Beru said you just think about how your day went and how tomorrow can be better," Leia proudly explained. Anakin's smile only grew. "Was Aunt Beru right?" Leia asked, a bit of frown forming.

"You could reflect on your day if you wanted to," Anakin replied.

"Is that what you do?" Leia asked. Her eyes shone with intense curiosity. Anakin hesitated in his answer. He could try to explain it to her. Meditating was letting oneself go and be one with the Force. But he wasn't sure how ready Leia was for hearing about the Force. He wasn't sure how ready he was in letting his children know. Anakin only nodded in reply.

As such each day when Anakin would meditate, Leia would join him. She would copy his pose, sitting cross-legged on the floor. She would only sit for about ten to fifteen minutes, before she was done and scurried off. Once or twice Luke had tried to join them. He fell asleep. After that he decided it wasn't worth it. Anakin didn't mind. Though Leia and Anakin didn't commute or share anything through the Force during the meditation, he still felt like it was a bonding experience between father and daughter.

Anakin spent a good amount of time with Luke as the two built and maintained a T-16 skyhopper. Luke was absolutely fascinated with machines and loved piloting and racing the skyhopper. Luke's friends raced them around the local canyons. Anakin wasn't too comfortable letting Luke go out by himself. Obi-Wan had chided him, remarking how Anakin had been younger than Luke when he raced podracers. Those things were far more dangerous than the skyhoppers.

Back in the cave, the silence stretched between the old Jedi and Anakin. It wasn't uncomfortable. Anakin thought over Yoda's previous statement. Perhaps it was time for the twins to start learning about the Force, especially in shielding. Currently the children had three strong Force-users helping to keep their existence from being known to Darth Sidious and his new apprentice Vader. Anakin felt a bubble of anger mixed with the dark side move within him.

Hearing about Sidious' new apprentice had sent Anakin spiraling into the dark side. It had been the worst episode in quite some time.

"Anakin calm down!" Obi-Wan cried. The two Jedi masters had tracked Anakin down. "This is what he wants! Sidious wants you to fall to the dark side! He's trying to lure you out!" Obi-Wan was right, Anakin knew it. It was all another ploy by Sidious. He hadn't given up on Anakin. He probably never would. There was only one to end this, and it was with the death of Sidious.

When Anakin left to face Sidious, he wasn't sure what Yoda or Obi-Wan would do. He wanted the two to say here, with his children. He had a feeling that at least Obi-Wan would protest and would want to join Anakin. He could already hear Obi-Wan's voice telling Anakin he shouldn't face this alone.

But with Anakin gone, possibly Obi-Wan as well, how well would Luke and Leia stay safe? Anakin wouldn't be able to rush out and face Sidious as soon as he left Tatooine. He would need information, time, and a plan. It was imperative the twins stay unknown to the Empire. If there was one thing that could truly drag Anakin back down into the dark side, it would be his children. He couldn't lose them. Sidious had already used Anakin's wife to make Anakin into a Sith once. Sidious wouldn't think twice about using his children- _her_ children. Perhaps training them some was for the best.

Anakin glanced back over that the _Twin Suns_. Cargo boxes and ship parts littered the ground near the ship. He did a mental inventory of the parts he had and what parts he was missing. He would have to make due with the parts he had on hand to finish up the current repairs. He would need to make a trip to Anchorhead, or possibly to Mos Eisley, to get the parts he needed to finish up his current project on the ship.

Anakin stood and made his way across the cave to the ship. Yoda stayed seated. Anakin stretched his arms as he came up to the ship. He walked under the ship, glancing at the open panel. Exposed wires hung loosely down. He wanted to get the wires properly refitted and reattached before he called it a night.

Suddenly an intense wave of cold fear slammed into Anakin through the Force. He was left physically unbalanced and gasped for air. He stumbled forward a bit, his hand reaching out to a cargo crate to steady himself. He automatically reached out into the Force for the source of the wave.

"Luke," he breathed. He recognized the source the moment he touched it in the Force. His son's Force signature was unmistakable. A cold chill sliced through Anakin as he desperately sought out Luke in the Force. What was wrong? Why was his son in this much pain? Where was he? Anakin searched through the Force. He found the Lars Farm. He could easily locate Leia's Force signature. She was safe. Owen and Beru were but small bumps in the Force, but also on the farm and safe. There was no Luke.

The dark side half of Anakin was raging and boiling. The light side was an eerily calm, almost like glass. Anakin's breathing was sharp and ragged. The echo of the pain coming from Luke was still fresh in Anakin's mind. Then another large wave of fear crashed into Anakin. He could feel Luke's pain. The boy was injured.

A quick image of Anakin's mother slashed into Anakin's mind. Her bruised and tattered form in the Tusken raider's camp.

 _No!_

Without even thinking, he found himself plummeting into the dark side. The light side shattered. The dark side bubbled and oozed out, taking control. It stormed and raged inside. The pain of lost from Anakin's mother, the fear of losing Luke, fueled the dark side on. Anakin used this strength to reach out. He had to find Luke. He felt his way through the deserts and canyons.

 _There!_ The image was clear in Anakin's mind. Night was just settling in. In a darkened and twisted canyon, laid the smoking wreckage of a skyhopper. Anakin quickly recognized it as his own. The one he and Luke worked on together. Anakin zoomed in on the wreckage and could feel the flickering Force from Luke.

Anakin was running out of the cave. He could hear Yoda shouting after him. He made it to his speeder before the Jedi Master could stop him. He was off into the night. Already the air was starting to cool down. Anakin's full focus was on the connection between him and Luke. Luke's Force signature was flickering.

 _No!_ Anakin cried out into the Force. _Luke! Hang on! I'm on my way!_

Somewhere else in the Force Anakin could hear Obi-Wan's voice calling his name. Yet, Anakin ignored it. Part of him already knew that Master Yoda and Obi-Wan were in their own speeder following after Anakin. The dark side of Anakin grew angry at the thought.

 _Always chasing after you_ , it thought. _Always trying to stop you._

Anakin knew he needed to push that voice aside. He shouldn't dwell on it. It would only make it harder to step back to the light side. Yet he did the opposite. He dipped more into the darkness. He called upon the anger and hurt buried there. Instantly he felt the unbearable grief and loss of his wife. The betrayal of learning how Palpatine had orchestrated it all.

The anger within Anakin burned inside of him. He took it all in. The power was overwhelming. He hadn't tasted this much power in years. Why had he shied away from it? Feared it? With this power he could take down Sidious! He wouldn't have to hide on this horrible planet!

A faint flicker of pain shot through like lightning in Anakin's mind. _Luke!_ Anakin cried. He had almost lost himself, forgetting why he had collected the power. Anakin had reached the mouth of canyon. He pushed his speeder on, cursing that it wasn't a faster vehicle. He took the turns and curves of the canyon without slowing down. The Force guided him.

He started to slow the speeder down as Anakin felt him coming closer to Luke. Anakin reached out again into the Force, assuring himself the boy was still alive. The boy's fear and pain answered back. The speeder took a series of sharp zigzagging turns until finally the skyhopper came into view. One of its wings had broken off, scattered into pieces along the canyon floor. It looked as if the racer had rolled a few times, bouncing against the canyon before coming to rest haphazardly in a smoking pile pinned between some large boulders.

Anakin was out of the speeder before it properly came to a stop. He used Force-induced leaps to make it to the smoldering remains of the skyhopper.

"Luke!" he cried out. There was no physical response, but there was a surge in the Force from the boy. "I'm here! Luke!"

Anakin stopped and took a steadying breath. He placed his metal hand against the scratched and dented outside of the skyhopper. He reached out into the Force, sensing his way through the crunched up metal locating his son. He could see the boy through the Force. He was curled up in the destroyed cockpit.

Anakin unclipped his saber from his belt, the blue beam instantly shot forth. He hesitated only for a minute, before he brought the blade down and hacked at the skyhopper. He let the Force guide his movements. He knew he needed absolute precision. He didn't want to injure Luke nor cut anything that might cause the skyhopper to injure the boy. Last thing he needed was an explosion caused by leaking fuel and exposed wires, or a sharp piece of metal plating to fall into the cockpit.

He brought forth his free hand, clenched his fist, and snapped it back. A metal panel crumpled and suddenly flew off into the canyon as it was pulled by the Force. Anakin leaned into the wreckage, careful where he let his weight rest. He used the Force to push aside broken pieces until finally he had a clear path to Luke.

The boy was tightly curled up. His white farm clothes were torn and burn, stained with blood. His face was streaked with tears, blood, and soot. Anakin was amazed at how Luke hadn't been sliced into pieces or crushed amongst the wreckage. But he quickly could sense the Force as he moved closer to Luke. Luke had used the Force to help himself. Anakin grabbed the boy and pulled him out.

He placed Luke down on a smooth, flat rock. Luke's breathing was ragged and shallow. "Luke," Anakin called out softly. "It's ok, I'm here."

Yet Luke didn't respond. His presence in the Force flickered. Anakin's own fear was quickly clawing up inside of him. Deep emotions he tried to buried came bubbling up: the loss of his mother and the loss of his wife. He couldn't lose his son as well.

He quickly gathered Luke up in his arms and dashed to his speeder. He had to get out of the canyon and get Luke to a med center fast. He needed urgent care. Making his way out of the canyon was but a blur to Anakin. As soon as he was even ground, he angled his speeder towards the closest settlement. It was Mos Espa. The dark side swirled and lapped up at the hurt that stung inside Anakin thinking of the spaceport. He tried desperately to push down old memories of his childhood. Of his mother. Of leaving her to go with the Jedi. Of returning with Padme to soothe his nightmares about his mother.

He collected this pain and focused it into anger, which he then funneled into the Force. Into the dark side which he still had raging on inside of him. He edged his speeder on into the night. He glanced down at the small figure cradled against him. There had been no change in Luke. His breathing was still shallow and erratic. His eyes were clenched shut. Sweat dotted the boy's forehead, causing trails amongst the blood and soot where it dripped.

" _He had such knowledge of the dark side that he could even keep the ones he cared about from dying."_

The speeder swerved sharply. Luke out a small moan in pain. Anakin cursed as he corrected his course. He could feel sweat building up on him. He had been dwelling in the dark side too long. He needed to let go, but he couldn't not yet. He still needed to use it help his reflexes and focus until he got to Mos Espa. Anakin clenched his teeth still hearing the words echo through him. It had been years since he had heard Sidious's voice haunt him.

The lights of the spaceport grew on the horizon as speeder raced on. As he came closer, he started to slow the speeder down. He steered the speeder on to the med center. The white sandstone building with the dome roof still stood in the same spot Anakin remembered it as a child. He himself had never been in there. Such things were not allowed for slaves.

Anakin ran Luke into the center. The med center at Mos Espa, though small, had a decent trained staff and stocked inventory. Tatooine and any of its spaceports were no stranger to individuals getting themselves injured. The med center did good business amongst the bounty hunters, criminals, and smugglers. The small staff kept place running all the time, as one never knew when a brawl could break out in a local cantina.

As such the three med workers quickly jumped into action seeing Anakin run in with the small boy. They led the father into the back and placed the boy on a table. The workers got to work immediately cutting the clothes off the boy to assess the injuries. One worker questioned Anakin about what happened. Eventually the worked pushed Anakin out of the operating room. Anakin protested. He needed to be with his son.

"You're in the way," the worked snapped at him. "Let us work."

As the man turned to go back into the back, Anakin's hand rose. He stretched it out calling forth the Force. How dare Anakin be denied his son? His son needed him. It would be so easy to crush the man's windpipe.

He snapped his hand down realizing what he was about to do. Anakin ran his hands through his hair and paced the small waiting area. He was still holding on to the Force. He was still calling upon the dark side. He sat down on the hard bench. He hunched over, his elbows on his knees, his head dropped low.

He needed to let go of the Force. But as he reached out to cut the connection, he felt Luke's flickering signature again. It had gotten weaker.

 _Luke!_

Anakin couldn't do this. He couldn't go through such loss again. He wasn't sure how much of himself would be left to salvage. Losing Padme had destroyed him so much. How would he continue if he lost Luke as well? Hot tears burned down his cheeks.

 _Anakin._

His heart clenched at hearing her voice.

 _Anakin._

"I'm sorry Padme," he said softly. "I'm so sorry. I couldn't protect him."

 _Anakin._

He took in sharp staggered breath. It almost felt like she was there. Next to him. He looked up. Standing in front on him was his cloaked phantom. The smaller one. The feminine one. The one that held her voice.

"Padme . . ." Anakin let out a small sob. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Our son. _Your_ son . . ."

He put his head down. Anakin couldn't even face his own projection of his wife at the moment.

 _Anakin. Where are you?_

Anakin kept his head down ignoring the question. He was too wrapped in his own worry and guilt and grief. The phantom asked again, this time more urgent.

 _Anakin, where are you?_

He still did not respond. His mind recalling the wreckage of the skyhopper. The twisted and melted metal. Pulling the small form covered in blood and ash from the racer.

 _Anakin! Where are you? Where are you?_

Her voice pleaded. It was desperate. It repeated. He brought his hands up to his head and clenched them. It was too overwhelming. Her voice. He needed to focus on Luke. So he finally gave it to her calls.

"Mos Espa . . ." he said softly.

And then it was gone. The voice. The phantom. Anakin finally closed himself off the Force. He felt instantly drained and tired. He felt hollow from the lack of power that had but an hour before burned through him. He took in a deep breath. He looked up at the door leading to the back. To his son and waited.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN:** _I know this fic hasn't updated since January. I apologize. It's very much a "back burner" fic. I can't even promise when the next update will be, but hopefully it won't be another eight months._

* * *

 **Chapter Five**

The orange-brown desert planet of Tatooine stretched in the viewport of the cockpit of Ahsoka's ship. She reached out into the Force to see if she could sense her master, Anakin, orr perhaps Master Kenobi or Yoda. But there was nothing. Silence in the Force. She sighed. It was wishful thinking that she would be able to pick anything up. The three Jedi masters had stayed hidden all these years for a reason.

She clicked on the holodisk. It was probably the hundredth time she had done so over the last several hours. It showed a holo of white buildings on a sandy street. A blurry speeder was speeding through the street. The image repeated, this time slowed down. There clearly in the image was Master Kenobi and Master Yoda in the speeder. One might be able to write off a human male easily, but there was no denying whatever Yoda was. The image was blurry, but Ahsoka could feel the truth within the Force. After three years of searching, she had finally found them.

It had been almost three years since Ahsoka had faced Darth Vader on Cilpar. Three years since she had listened in on Bail Organa's conversation with Mon Mothma where she learned her former master, Anakin Skywalker, was still alive. Since then Ahsoka had scoured the galaxy for signs of Anakin. She of course had extended the search to include Masters Kenobi and Yoda, who Organa said the three were in hiding together.

Yet she had found no signs of any of the Jedi. She herself wasn't sure what she would do once she had the information. Originally she figured she would rush to Anakin's side at once. Figure out a way to clear his name from being the traitor that turned on the Jedi Order. Yet now ten years on since his supposed death, she wondered if that's what Anakin truly wanted. She had a hard time believing her former master was ok with everything that happened. That he would just sit back and hide. Yet Anakin still hadn't come out of hiding.

What Ahsoka really wanted was answers. What had happened ten years ago on the birth of the Empire? Had Anakin been the one Jedi to be loyal to the fledgling Empire? Led the attack on the Jedi Temple? Did he kill off the Separatist Leaders? Why did Imperial history claim he was killed by Obi-Wan Kenobi on Mustafar, when according to Organa the two were now in hiding together?

She still didn't have the answers to any of these questions. While she originally felt guilty for slicing into Organa's private line, she kept on doing it. She had to know. She needed these answers, or at least the find the ones who had the answers. Yet Organa never revealed a hint about the locations of the hidden Jedi. Ahsoka had to give the man credit, he never mentioned it again in all the conversations Ahsoka had listened in on.

As Ahsoka piloted the ship towards the planet she couldn't help but to think back to the last and first time she was here. She remembered her adrenaline pumping as Anakin piloted the _Twilight_. She clutched the huttlet in her arms. She had been so young. So pure. Unjaded. Ahsoka shook her head to clear her thoughts. No point in dwelling on that past.

 _And yet that's what all this really boils down to_ , Ahsoka told herself. _The past. What happened ten years ago?_

She pushed the thoughts on hold while she approached Mos Espa and found a suitable port for her ship. Once she paid the docking fee with the port master, she pulled her hood up and walked onto the hot sandy streets of the city. She started walking. The streets of Mos Espa were filled with a wide variety of species. Though all looked rough and haggarded. They were farmers and bounty hunters and mercenaries and smugglers. Tatooine was a Hutt controlled world. Such places drew in the crowds that were trying to avoid Imperial detection. Perhaps this planet was a good place to hide.

Hours ago back on her ship, she had been working on gathering new intel so she could use to help coordinate attacks for the various Rebel Cells. Until she got a message from an emergency frequency from one of her informants. He was a Duros who lived on Tatooine. He gathered information on Hutts, mainly Jabba the Hutt, but also listened in on the various bounty hunters and smugglers who came to the planet. "I thought you'd want to see this immediately," the Duros said in the message. "I just came across this in Mos Espa." It was the holo image of Obi-Wan and Yoda on the speeder.

She debated on what to do. She had imaged this scene in her head before. SHe would find the location, rush to Anakin's side, but now she hesitated. But then her decision was made up for her when she received another message. This time it was from an Imperial agent stationed on board the _Devastator_. She ran the message through the code descrambler. The message was short and simple. The _Devastator_ had left its fleet and suddenly changed course. It was jumping to hyperspace to Tatooine.

Ahsoka couldn't stop the cold fear that swept through her. The _Devastator_ was Vader's ship, and she was currently on board. There was no way this was coincidence. If Ahsoka's informant had seen Kenobi and Yoda, it wasn't unlikely that an Imperial agent or bounty hunter also saw them as well. She had to get to Tatooine at once. Luckily for her she was closer to the planet than the star destroyer. She would get there before the Sith and infamous Jedi hunter got there. However, she would be cutting it close. She would have at most twelve hours before the Sith arrived.

The anxiety within Ahsoka rose and rose as the sun set lower and lower. It had been four hours since she landed. She had eight hours left until the _Devastator_ 's expected arrival in the system. She had found no clues to Anakin or the two Jedi masters. The Force had been unusually quiet. Ahsoka was hot and sweaty and the thought did pass her mind to go find an inn. But no, she couldn't. This was too important. Perhaps she should start entering the bars and cantinas and ask questions or find an information broker.

She turned a corner and a human girl ran right into her. She wore the typical light colored farmer's tunic. "Sorry," the girl murmured. She glanced briefly up at Ahsoka. She had brown eyes and brown hair that was pulled into two buns on either side of her head. Yet what caused Ashoka to gasp was the girl's Force presence. The girl was strong in the Force. She was a bright burning star.

 _How had I not noticed her earlier?_ Ahsoka asked herself.

"Leia?" a woman's voice called in the distance.

"Coming!" the girl answered as she ran around Ahsoka and down the street. Ahsoka watched as the girl disappeared around a corner.

The Force nudged Ahsoka, and without a second thought, she followed the girl. There was something about this girl the Force wanted Ahsoka to know. A part of her mind battled with this. She wasn't here on some charity mission to take in Force sensitive children. But granted with Darth Vader on her way here, would this girl be safe? The Empire took Force sensitive children. They disappeared and no one had yet been able to figure out what happened to them.

When Ahsoka turned the corner, she spotted the girl a few buildings down. She stood in front of a well lit building next to a woman and a man, both dressed as farmers. As Ahsoka slowly made her way down the road, she noted the building they were in front of was a med center.

Ahsoka froze. The Force hummed around her. A figure walked out of the med center. He wore a long brown robe with the hood pulled up. The hooded figure stopped as well and turned towards her. The Force told her before she saw the face.

"Master Kenobi," she whispered.

Under the hood she easily spotted the familiar face. He had aged. His beard and hair was streaked with white. His face had more lines on it, but it was him. _It was him_. His mouth opened a small bit as he looked at her. Over her initial shock, she rushed down the dusty road. As she stopped in front of him, she found herself at a lost of words.

"Ahsoka?" he said.

"Master," she said with a small smile and a small bow. She blinked back a few tears that threatened to come out.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. His voice was low.

"I . . . I . . ." she stumbled. Where to start? What could she say? Her eyes slid off of him and to the med center's doors. The Force hummed and buzzed all around her. "Anakin?" she said softly. The question was more to herself than to Obi-Wan, but the old Jedi master cringed. There was a flash of pain and guilt- and then Obi-Wan's shields slammed into place.

At once Ahsoka feared the worst. Why was Obi-Wan at the med center? Was Anakin hurt? Was this what caused Obi-Wan and Yoda to be so careless?

"Ahsoka," Obi-Wan said drawing her out of her thoughts. "I am very happy to see you. Truly. But this is not the best time." He casted a brief glance over his shoulder at the med center. "It is not safe . . ."

No, Ahsoka thought. She was not about to be pushed aside, so she cut straight to the chase. "Vader is on her way here," Ahsoka said. At once Obi-Wan straightened up in alarm. His blue eyes searched hers. He knew she spoke the truth.

"What? How?" he asked breathlessly.

"An informant captured a holo image of you and Yoda on a speeder," she explained. "I'm guessing the Empire got the same intel. Luckily a spy on board the _Devastator_ informed me of their sudden jump and destination. We have about eight hours until they get here."

Obi-Wan turned towards the med center. While he was still shielding, Ahsoka could easily read his body language. Fear. Worry. Confliction.

"Is Anakin hurt?" she asked finally unable to hold it in.

"Anakin? No," Obi-Wan said a bit absent mindedly. He had started to stroke his beard in thought.

"So he is here," she said with relief.

Obi-Wan nodded slightly before he turned and headed into the med center. Ahsoka stood there awkwardly for a second, before she walked in after him. The inside held a small waiting room. Benches lined a corner. A family huddled in the corner, which Obi-Wan approached. Ahsoka noticed the brown-haired girl from earlier amongst the family. Along with the girl were two other humans. An older man and woman, who Ahsoka assumed were the parents. The two parted after a few words with Obi-Wan, and that was when Ahsoka noticed the fourth person sitting hunched over on a bench.

Anakin Skywalker hadn't changed that much over the past ten years. His hair was a bit more blond and skin was a bit more tanned. Both side effects living on a sun drenched planet. His scar next to his eye was still visible. He still wore his hair long and curled. Unlike the rest of the Tatooine natives, he wore dark leathered clothes. His right arm was gloved, covering up his prosthetic.

 _How had he managed to stay undetected all these years?_ Ahsoka wondered. He looked exactly the same. How had no one noticed him?

As Obi-Wan approached, Anakin looked up. His face was etched in worry and pain. It was a look she had rarely seen from him. Obi-Wan exchanged some soft spoken words with Anakin, and that was when his eyes darted to her. She sucked in a breath as his blue eyes hit her. His eyes widened in shock. At once he was on his feet and moving across the small waiting room. The rest of his party looked on in curiosity.

"Ahsoka?" Anakin whispered as he approached.

"Hey Skyguy," she said.

There was an awkward pause before he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her. She was swept off her feet as he twirled her around in a tight embrace.

"Stars," he said as he let her go. "It really is you. And you've got taller!"

"It is her," Obi-Wan said. Neither Anakin or Ahsoka had realized he had approached them. "She's not here on a friendly visit, either. Ahsoka?"

She repeated why was she was here. Anakin's face quickly changed from joy to surprise to worry and possibly something even darker. Hate? Fear? Anakin ran a hand through his hair.

"This . . . isn't good," he murmured.

"No, it is not," Obi-Wan agreed.

"Eight hours . . . " Anakin said. "I don't . . . I don't know if I can get the _Twin Suns_ up and running in that long."

"If it's a ship you're worried about, there is mine," Ahsoka offered.

Anakin turned towards the doors leading deeper into the med center. "Luke . . ." he said softly. His voice was laced with care. Obi-Wan placed a hand on Anakin's shoulder.

"Perhaps you could ask the doctor for another update?" Obi-Wan asked. Anakin weakly nodded before he walked over to the counter of the med center. A very tired looking employee greeted him with familiarity.

Ahsoka waited until Anakin was gone before she asked. "Luke?"

Obi-Wan took in a deep breath and let out a long sigh. "His son," Obi-Wan said.

"Son?" Ahsoka said louder than she wanted to. The family in the corner looked over at her. Anakin had a son? He was a father? Her eyes at once went over to the family in the corner to the girl. The girl who was bright in the Force. "Does he also have . . . ?" Ahsoka gestured to the girl.

"A daughter? Yes," Obi-Wan answered. "Twins, actually. Luke and Leia. Luke has been injured." Obi-Wan's eyes lingered over to Anakin. "We're going to need to get in contact with Yoda," Obi-Wan said.

Ahsoka recalled nodding to Obi-Wan's words, but in truth she was lost in a swirl of her own thoughts. Anakin had a family? Children? Twins? Is this why he had never come out of hiding? He decided to settle down? How . . . unlike him. Anakin had been a good master, a great one, but being a Jedi mentor was quite different from being a father. And how did he have kids? Or perhaps the better question was with who? Ahsoka eyed the two older humans. She doubted the woman was the mother of Anakin's children. Ahsoka recalled that he had a thing for-

Padmé.

Ahsoka looked at the young girl. Brown hair curled into buns with large brown eyes. This child looked just like Padmé. But hadn't the senator died in the chaos at the start of the Empire? Ahsoka recalled watching the holonews coverage of the funeral on Theed. The funeral carriage carried a large decorative urn. Naboo religion called for the deceased to be cremated. Their ashes would be thrown into the Solleu River right before the river plunged over a cliff. This allowed the life force of the dead to return to the planet's core.

Perhaps Ahsoka was overthinking this. Perhaps Anakin had met someone while in hiding. There could be time to debate this later, for now they had more pressing matters to attend to. Obi-Wan had disappeared into a corner to talk into his com unit for a while in a hushed tone. He walked back over to Ahsoka the same time Anakin did.

"Well?" Obi-Wan asked first.

"Luke is still in critical condition," Anakin replied sadly. "He's stable, but there is no way he can be moved . . ."

A tense silence fell between the three. Never had Ahsoka ever felt so uncomfortable in the presence of these two Jedi before. She felt like she was an outsider. ( _Aren't you?_ a voice inside her asked.)

Anakin took a deep breath. "Luke can't be moved. We need a medical pod. It's the only way we'll be able to get him off planet."

Ahsoka said, "There has to be a least one black market dealer on this planet."

"It would be very expensive," Obi-Wan said.

Anakin shrugged slightly. "Credits isn't a problem. Still have all those krayt dragon pearls. Now what I'm worried about is time. First we'd have to find a dealer and then hope they actually have a pod on planet."

"Well it's worth trying," Ahsoka said softly.

* * *

Ahsoka learned the two other humans were Anakin's step-family through his mother's marriage. They were Owen and Beru Lars with whom Anakin and his children had been living with. The plan was for Obi-Wan to take Ahsoka's ship to the Lars' homestead, which was quite a distance from Mos Espa. There Obi-Wan would collect the krayt dragon pearls and then collect Yoda before returning to Mos Espa. Anakin, Ahsoka and Owen would seek a black market dealer while Beru and Leia stayed at the med center with Luke.

Ahsoka was a bit on edge to out in the night streets with Anakin so uncovered. He had no disguise on, which he seemed unphased by it. His attention was completely focused on getting a med pod. They hit up a seedy cantina near a large space port. Luckily the crowd was a heavy mix of different species. While Ahsoka was the only Togruta, she didn't stick out. Owen stuck out more than her wearing his local farmer tans amongst the crowd of spacers, most likely smugglers, criminals, and bounty hunters. Almost everyone was in plastoid or durasteel armor and leather.

Anakin scanned the bar. At once he moved through the crowd towards a group crowded around the table. At first they were wary of him, but the more Anakin talked the more Ahsoka noticed they nodded along with him. She was hopeful. She was here with Anakin. The Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Everything would work out. They would find a way. They always had. But as the hours dragged on, the hope started to fade.

They had no luck in finding a med pod currently on Tatooine. There were plenty of shady smugglers or dealers who could get their hands on one, but no one had one on planet. Time was running out. Already they had lost half their time. Now it was about four hours until the expected arrival of Darth Vader.

They found themselves on Ahsoka's ship. Master Yoda, Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Ahsoka. The Lars had stayed at the medical center with the twins. Anakin looked horrible. A stubble beard was growing in. He had large dark circles under his eyes. He ran his ungloved hand across his face.

"Stronger the Dark Side is growing," Master Yoda said. Ahsoka had said very little to him. A quick greeting was all. There wasn't time for anything else. "Approaching the Sith are."

Anakin let out a long sigh. "Obi-Wan I want you to go back to the cave. Get the _Twin Suns_ working."

"Anakin-" Obi-Wan started, but Anakin cut him off.

"Listen . . . Luke can't move. Not yet. And Vader is coming. We could hide, but I doubt that'll be enough. I have feeling the Empire would burn this planet down if they think even one high profile Jedi is hiding out, much less two or three. Point is, Vader will be looking for us. So let's give her something to look for."

"Anakin," Obi-Wan said in a much darker tone.

Anakin continued, "Let me explain. Yoda will come with me to Mos Eisley where we'll create a scene. He's much more recognizable and he actually has a bounty on his head. Hopefully when the Imps arrive, they'll focus their search on Mos Eisley than here. Yoda, you and Ahsoka take Leia on this ship and leave. Go somewhere safe. I'll . . . I'll draw the Imps away. Use the credits from the Krayt pearls and buy a ship. Hopefully they give chase which gives Obi-Wan enough time to fix the _Twin Suns_. Once Luke is healed enough, you get him off planet."

Silence stretched between the four as they processed Anakin's plan.

"So you're the bait?" Ahsoka asked.

"Anakin you can't," Obi-Wan said. "We can switch roles. I'll be the bait. You fix the ship. You'll be much faster at it than I. As you said they think you're dead."

"But Darth Vader and _Palpatine_ ," he spat the name, "know I'm alive. If given the choice, it's me they'll come after."

A shiver ran through Ahsoka as she recalled her one encounter with the Sith. " _He is not dead! Now tell me where he is!_ " So the Empire did spread the false news of Anakin's death.

"Ready you are not," Yoda said.

"I agree," Obi-Wan said. "If it comes to a face-to-face meeting I worry you won't be able to handle it."

Had Anakin been injured? Is that why he had been in hiding? Had Anakin fought the Emperor? Ahsoka wanted to ask so many questions, but she held her tongue.

"And I'll never be!" Anakin snapped at the two Jedi masters. "It's been years. _Years_! But I can't leave Luke here and hope for the best. I can't . . . I _can't_ lose him!"

The air suddenly became tense and was filled with power. As if there was a lightning storm coming and any moment a streak would tear down from the sky.

"If I lose him," Anakin said softly. "It won't matter. I'll be lost for good."

Ahsoka looked from Anakin to Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan face had wrinkled into full concern. Yoda's ears drooped slightly. There was something more going on. Ahsoka was missing something. She hated not knowing. She wanted to know. She wanted to help. But her tongue felt like lead in her mouth and there was a large knot at the back of her throat.

"I can do this," Anakin said.

"Trust in the Force you must," Yoda said. "As the Force wills, it will be."


	6. Chapter 6

The streaks of hyperspace suddenly stopped and turned into the small white distant stars. The desert planet of Tatooine loomed large out the viewport. When was the last time she was here? On the eve of the Clone Wars when she had come here with Anakin to find his mother?

Darth Vader's heart was pounding. It had been ten years. Ten years since she had heard his voice. And by her gods, did hearing his voice make her heart ache. She had forgotten this feeling.

 _Love?_

Her anger quickly chased that thought away. No. Sith did not love.

 _But you're not a Sith. Not really. Just a fake. Just a stand-in for the_ real _one. For the real Darth Vader. For Anakin._

Her anger intensified, but the ache in her heart was still there. She cursed to herself. She couldn't still love that man. After ten years of the horror she had lived through. The _ten years_ he had abandoned her to Sidious's cruel whims. Ten years she had spent screaming his name out until her vocal chords ached and burned and became worn and silent. Ten years he had never answered. Ten years she had been without her children.

Anakin's word haunted her, " _I'm sorry Padmé. I'm so sorry. I couldn't protect him. Our son._ Your _son_."

Vader was suddenly finding it hard to breathe thinking back to Anakin's words. He sounded so pained. She could feel his emotions. They were were strong. He was so wrapped up in fear and guilt. It was these strong dark emotions that finally allowed Vader to form a connection with Anakin. She had been ecstatic that after years, she finally had found him. She had to get his location. She had to get to him before Sidious.

As such at the time she hadn't questioned his words. All she did was press Anakin for his location. But now she remembered his sorrowful words. Luke. Her son. What had happened? Anakin cried and apologized he hadn't protected the boy.

 _Anakin was with the children!_ A part of her rejoiced. The part that was the very hidden Padmé Amidala. She had suspected that the one thing that kept Anakin from returning for her were the children.

 _But he has now failed at keeping them safe_ , the darkness inside her hissed. _Is your son now dead? The son you never met? Never got to hold? The child he chose over you?_

She didn't know. She just didn't know! She didn't know what had happened ten years ago with Anakin. What had happened with her children. What kept Anakin from trying to save her. She didn't know what Anakin's words meant. Why did he think he failed to protect their son?

Darth Vader was here now. She would find her son. She would protect him. She would also find her husband. Her Anakin. For he was hers. Not Sidious'. Not the Jedi's. _Hers_.

She turned sharply on the heels of her boots. Her cape snapped behind her. Kneeling on the ground in front of her were the children. They had been gifts from Sidious. She had been successful in her hunt for rogue Jedi and helping terrorize the galaxy into obedience and fear of the Empire.

" _You've always been drawn to my children, Vader," Sidious said in a voice that was close to a hiss. "I give you these to take on as your disciples."_

Disciples. Not apprentices. She wasn't a real Sith. She couldn't take on a real apprentice. She herself had never been a real apprentice. Sidious had made sure she knew that distinction quite clearly. Anakin was Sidious' real apprentice. Yet none of the children were also Sith. They had been trained in ways of the Dark Side, but not completely. Not fully. They were to be Sidious' little army of spies and assassins. They were disciples of the dark. Like Vader, they were of use to Sidious but never good enough. She had eagerly accepted them.

One was Galen Marek, a twelve year old human boy. He had pale skin with brown hair and matching eyes. He kept his hair buzzed short to his head. He wore a blank synleather tunic, which reminded her of Jedi tunics. It reminded her of all the ways Sidious had taken the culture of the Jedi and twisted into his own. She wondered how much was the true Sith way instead of just some cheap dark knock-off of the Jedi.

The other kneeling child was Mara Jade. Also a human. Sidious was far too xenophobic to accept non-humans. She was eight, but already so much older. Her hair was a bright red and contrasted sharply with her bright green eyes. She was also dressed in a black leather tunic similar to Galen's.

"Rise," she told them. Her voice coming out deep through the vocoder. They rose quietly and gracefully.

"We've arrived at Tatooine," Galen said matter-of-factly. He didn't dare pose it as a question, but he was asking why they were here.

"I've felt a disturbance in the Force," Vader said as she left the room behind with the two tailing behind her.

"Jedi?" the boy asked. There was a slight edge of joy to his voice. There was an eagerness in Jade's eyes as well.

"Yes . . ." She stopped and sharply turned on the children.

She glared at Galen. Despite him being only twelve, he was already almost as tall as she. She wanted to trust Galen and Jade. She knew she had earned their loyalty, but she didn't know how completely she had won them over. Vader didn't know how deep Sidious' brainwashing and conditioning went. If she told them they were going after Anakin Skywalker, how would they respond? Would they alert Sidious' spies on the ship? Alert the Emperor himself? Or continue on with the charade? Or perhaps they would side with Vader.

Vader didn't know. It wasn't a risk she could take. She had to get to Anakin first. Anakin was hers. Hers alone. She wouldn't allow Sidious to have him. Once Anakin was in Sidious' grasp again, Sidious would kill her. Plus she had no idea what Sidious planned for her children, her real children. Luke and Leia. Would they be made into disciples like Galen and Mara? Used as training fuel to push Anakin into a faithful Sith apprentice?

It didn't matter. Vader wouldn't allow the children of Padmé Amidala to be used by Sidious. At the very least, those two innocent beings created from the best of Padmé and Anakin, deserved to be free of Sidious. They shouldn't suffer from their parents' mistakes and sins. Vader would relive the past ten years of her life if it meant her children would grow up pain free and happy and free of Sidious.

And if that meant killing Galen and Mara, then she would. Padmé Amidala was barely still alive inside Vader. She was buried deep inside the dark monster. Vader had no problems about killing children. She had been forced to many times. If it meant the safety of her own children, then these two would die. Most likely they would be the first in many sacrifices.

Galen and Mara stood attentive and didn't shy away from Vader's attention on them. Sidious had gifted Galen to Vader due to his fighting prowess. He had been groomed to take down Jedi. Jade had been trained as a spy and infiltrator. A dangerous combination the two of them.

"Be careful," Vader finally said. Her words sharp. "And you are to follow _my_ orders."

"Yes, master," they replied back.

"Go against my orders and there _will_ be consequences," she said. Her words were thick with unspoken threats. Unspoken promises that she would act on. The two knew this from experience. "Come," she said as turned back around. "You two will be going to Mos Espa. I want you to locate, secure, and bring me someone I believe is there. There may be Jedi. Kill them."

"Yes, master," came the eager reply.

* * *

The loading ramp to Vader's shuttle slowly lower. The stormtroopers all stood with blasters in their arms. They were of the 501st Legion known as Vader's Fist. The clones that were still part of this group were the same clones Anakin had commanded. At once sand snaked up the loading ramp as the Tatooine wind blew. Vader ignored it, and walked down the ramp confidently with her troops behind her. She walked through the hangar and out into the streets of Mos Eisley.

It was a small dingy spaceport, but by Tatooine standards it was one of the largest settlements. She had been given information from the planet corps that there was a Jedi sighting in Mos Eisley. At once she brought up the security footage the planet security had sent her. There was no mistaking the small green form of Master Yoda. Behind him stood a tall figure. Its back was to the camera, but she could make out the long blond hair that she once used to rake her hands through. He was so unmistakable. Even after all this time.

Anakin had said he was at Mos Espa, and yet now he was at Mos Eisley and clearly allowing himself to be seen. Had he sensed her? Was he finally done hiding?

There was a strong pull of the Force, and Vader let it pull her where it willed. There was no doubt it was bringing her to Anakin. As Sidious would say, "It was the Will of the Force." They were meant to be together, her and Anakin. They longed for each other. They were not whole without the other. And now in such close proximity, the two souls called for each other. Yearned to be complete again.

She had left her troops behind. She wound through the streets and back alleyways. The sun was starting to rise. The darkness of night was starting to fade. The sandstone buildings, the streets, and the sky were all blending together in mesh of grays. She turned down another thin alleyway and there she saw him. She paused. She missed a heartbeat.

Anakin.

He hadn't changed. Perhaps his skin was a bit tanner, but he still looked the same. He still wore his hair in long curls. His eyes were still a bright blue. There was a scar that ran along his right eye. He wore a dark leather tunic that was reminiscent of his old Jedi robes. He was still gorgeous. Her eyes lingered on his full lips and his toned arms. Her heart pounded in her ears drowning out the ever constant rhythm of her respirator.

The part that was Padmé Amidala stirred. She wanted to run over to him and wrap him in her arms. Let him whisper that everything was going to be fine now. That he loved her and always would. But that daydream was quickly shattered. Padmé was slammed back down into the dark depths of the half-Sith by the snarl coming from Anakin Skywalker.

"Darth Vader," he said.

"Anakin Skywalker," she responded. Her voice came out as the deep mechanical voice of the vocoder. Not the lovely sound her voice had been. Not the one Anakin would recognize.

"What brings you to Tatooine?"

"You," she said.

"Just me?"

"I care not for Yoda or Obi-Wan."

A devilish smile grew across his lips. "I guess I should be flattered. What is your business with me? I hear you've been busy hunting down Jedi."

"All to get to you. All to find you. The rest does not matter. I had to find you."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "I see Darth Sidious is a sore loser. I suppose he sent you to drag me back to him? Does he truly think I'll willingly become his little puppet?"

"He does," she answered truthfully. "He has had ten years to plan. But . . ."

"But?"

"You will not be going back to him."

His head drew sharply back in surprise. He hadn't been expecting that. But then it lowered. "Don't want to lose your place?" he said harshly.

An odd short laugh escaped her. Her place? What place was that? It had always been a precarious place. A place that wasn't meant to last. It was always his place. She was just keeping it warm and ready.

"I wish to rid myself of this place," she snarled.

"Oh?"

"I want Sidious dead."

"Ah. Of course. That is what Sith do. I wish you all the luck in killing him."

"No," she growled. "You are coming with _me_."

"So you are seeking an apprentice?" Anakin asked as he unclipped his lightsaber. "I've tried that once. I won't be doing it again."

"It does not matter. You are _mine_ , Anakin Skywalker." She unclipped her own lightsaber. At once the red blade snapped to life with a hiss. Anakin's blue blade shortly followed.

"I belong to no one, Sith," he said as he charged down the alley.

Their lightsabers clashed and clashed again and again. She had fought Jedi before. Had fought his old apprentice, Ahsoka Tano. She had always won. The Dark Side always came to her aid. Gave her strength and speed. She had discovered she was good at reading people. Reading their moves. Predicting their next steps. It gave her the edge she needed because she didn't have the experience as a fighter.

But he was different. She knew he would be. He moved with unbelievable grace and power. He was fast and direct. He flipped and spun around her and over her. She was barely keeping up. No wonder why Sidious wanted Anakin so badly. He was amazing. She knew that. She had always known that. It went beyond just his physical poweress, he was also sweet and-

Vader growled out loud. She couldn't lose her train of thought here. Not now. Instead she focused on the pain. The torture. The loneliness that was all caused because of him. She opened herself up to the Force, to the Dark Side. It flooded into her. It sung. It was eager. It hungered for Anakin just like she did. Just like Sidious.

Anakin leapt into the air, using his speed and agility against her. He brought his blade down. It was a slash of blue. She pulled her saber arm up. There was a loud hiss and buzz as saber met saber. Anakin used gravity to push his body weight against the blades. She had to take a step back and then roll his blade and him to the side. He rolled on the ground, and then jumped right back up. He used the alley walls as an aid, and again was in the air where he had more room to move knowing she wouldn't meet him up there.

She collected the Force in her free hand, and sent it flying out towards him. A powerful Force push knocked him off his trajectory, but otherwise didn't phase him. This time he came in low. His blade striking up, but she was there to meet him. Blow for blow she met his blade. They moved down the alleyway. They would clash. Trying to get their saber through the other's defense. Him trying to land the death blow. Her trying to land a wounding blow. Then they would part. Reassess and then attack again.

Their dance went on and on. She tried to lure him into closer contact where he wouldn't be able to flip or spin away. But he was too smart for that. He kept his distant wisely. He would dart in close for a few slashes and jabs, perhaps a kick or a Force push, and then he was back out.

This was getting nowhere. They both were tiring out. He was good, she had to admit. The best she had yet to fight. At times he went in for the kill, yet other times he just aimlessly slashed at her. Why the indecision? Was he not taking this seriously? Why was he drawing this out . . .

He _was_ drawing this out. That was the whole point. He was the distraction.

Using the Force she turned off her vocoder. She turned on her helmet's comlink.

"Galen. Mara. Report," she barked. Her voice was raspy. Not where near as dark and demanding when she used the vocoder.

Vader took a few steps back distancing herself from Anakin. She lowered her blade. He stood hunched over and panting. "Give up?" he asked with a smirk.

"No," she said using the vocoder. "I am ready to continue when you are."

He did an overtly fancy spin of his blade. "I've been ready," he said almost with a purr.

"Perhaps," she said.

"Perhaps?"

"You are purposely drawing this out. Why?"

He said nothing. So she continued, "What are you protecting, Anakin Skywalker? You are out here as a distraction."

His feet slid on the sandy floor as he moved his weight into a new stance. She noticed the darkness then. It buzzed all around him, but he was still clinging to the light. But his light was shattered. Broken. Perhaps pieced together. It wouldn't take much to brake and let the Dark Side flood in.

He ran at her. Their blades at once meeting. But this time he didn't scurry back or flip away. No longer was he using his fancy moves. No he was moving in close and keeping it close. He was now taking this a bit more seriously. His blade came in fast and was angled at her neck. She knocked it to the side and brought her leg up to kick him. He pushed her kick off with his own kick. His lightsaber was now swinging around for a sharp jab. She parried it and jabbed her own sword forth. He dodged out of the way.

"Master," Galen's voice came in through her helmet. "I think we have located the target."

"Describe him," she growled into the com.

"A young boy, ten years of age. Blonde hair. Was in a crash. Badly injured in a local med center," Galen explained.

"Name?"

"Luke Lars."

Luke. Her little Luke. Lars? Wasn't that name of Anakin's step-family? She smiled. The right side hurt as the burned skin stretched.

"Secure him. Bring him to the ship. Any sign of Jedi?" Surely Anakin wouldn't leave his son unprotected. If he was the distraction, where were Yoda and Kenobi?

"None yet," Galen replied.

"I want the boy," Vader growled. "Let _nothing_ stop you."

"Yes, master."

In the alleyway the fight continued. Blue against red. Red against blue. The lightsabers buzzed and hissed. Vader swung wide, causing Anakin to backstep. She used the opportunity to step back herself. Again creating space and a pause in the fighting.

"I have found what you are protecting," she stated.

"Nothing but lies, Sith," Anakin said.

"Nothing but truths, Skywalker. You are protecting your son."

In instant he changed. His whole body tensed up. The light was cracking. It was seeping out of him. Small streams of the darkness eagerly swept in.

"His name is Luke," she stated.

"Do not touch him," Anakin growled. She could feel goosebumps race along her unburnt skin.

"It is too late for that. He is mine, Skywalker. Just like you will be. He is being taken to my ship as we speak."

"You will not take him!" he shouted. And with that the lightness exploded out of him. The waiting Dark Side pooled into him. His eyes changed from a brilliant blue to a sharp sulfur yellow ringed in red. She hated it. It reminded her of Sidious. Without warning, he was there. His blade was slamming down on her.

 _Force_ , she cursed to herself. The Dark Side was listening to Anakin's call. It was flooding into him. Empowering him. There were deep dark emotions the dark fed on inside of him. Anger. Pain. Fear. They were almost bottomless and as such gave the Dark Side almost unlimited fuel. Anakin reached out with his free hand. The Force wrapped around Vader and she was flung into a wall. The sandstone wall cracked as he pushed her hard into the wall. Then he moved his blade into a strike formation and ran at her.

"No!" she shouted. The Force came to call. Her own free hand lashed out. Her own power was sent out to him. Knocking him off his feet and into the other wall of the alley.

Anakin thought he knew of pain and anger and fear? He knew _nothing_. He had been a Sith for mere hours. True he had done an impressive amount in those hours by bringing down the Jedi Temple and the Separatist Council. But she had known the Dark Side for much longer. It had burned her skin. Charred and stolen her right limbs. Slashed away her left leg. It had spread across her nerves and veins again and again as Sidious poured his Force lightning into her. It gave her horrible dreams and visions of crying babies. It choked her breath. It stabbed her heart. It was the emptiness she was met with each time she closed her eyes to sleep.

Yes Darth Vader knew the Dark Side intimately. She may not be a true Sith. She did not know if her eyes were yellow like Anakin's. But she did know the Dark Side. She knew its suffering all too well. She was not going to lose here, to him. Not after all this time of waiting. They _were_ going to be together. She would have her revenge against Sidious. She had to have Anakin to do that.

The alleyway seemed to grow darker and colder. Anakin let out a small growl as he realized Vader was calling upon the Force and gathering more power. Anakin's blue blade jabbed forward, slashed from the right, from the top. He spun out away from her red blade, only to bring his blue blade back around. His blade knock hers off time and time again. He tried to kick at her. Use the Force to push her away, but each every move she met him.

Why was he fighting her? He was hers. He was her . . . husband. Wasn't he? She loved him. No! She hated him! He had left her! To be tortured day after day after day! She had called for him! He never came! But he was protecting their children! Of course he never came. They were babies. But look what happened! Luke is injured! Look what he let happen!

She just wanted him to hold her. She just wanted to stab her lightsaber through him. Watch as his eyes grew dim and his heart stopped. She wanted to kiss him. To feel his plump warm smooth lips against hers again. But he would shudder. Her lips were now half scarred. He would hate her. He did hate her. He had left her. To the flames. To Sidious. To the call of the darkness.

This was all his fault! All of it! It wasn't Sidious'! It was Anakin's! If he hadn't fallen to the Dark Side they would still be together! They would be a family! All of them! She would be whole! She would have her babies. Her real babies!

She screamed. The darkness heard her call. It flooded into her and right back out. The Force lightning zapped out of her free hand. It blasted into Anakin's chest and sent him flying down the alley into a wall. When the lightning retreated, he slumped to the alley floor.

Darth Vader deactivated her lightsaber and clipped it to her belt. Slowly she approached the fallen form of Anakin Skywalker.

"You have lost," she said. "Do not make me destroy you."

He glared up at her. His eyes were still a burning yellow. "It is you that will be destroyed," he growled, but his voice was weak and unsteady.

She let out a small laugh. "We do not have to fight. Join me. Together we can kill Sidious. We can end this destructive conflict and bring order to the galaxy. We can . . . be together."

His face flinched. "Together?" he spat. "Why would I want to be with you?"

She slowly brought her hands to her helmet and pulled it up. She dropped it to the ground. She brought her hands back up and undid the clips that kept the mask sealed shut. The air rushed out in soft swoosh. She pulled the mask off. She also let it drop to the ground. It hurt. The air hurt her lungs. It burned. It ached. She wasn't getting enough air. But she never got enough air. Not with him gone.

He looked a bit confused.

"You said," she said in her raspy voice that wavered. She coughed a few times. "You said we'd always be together. Ani."

His eyes widened. The yellow faded away and beautiful blue replaced them. She could see how blue they were now that she was seeing with her real eyes and not the lenses of the mask. His mouth opened. His eyes ran across her face. A face that was half burned and scarred. She could sense him reaching out in the Force. Cautiously touching her. His surprise was turning into horror.

"It can't be . . ." he whispered. "It's impossible . . ."

"Search your feelings," she rasped. "You know it to be true."

"No . . . No. No! No! You died!" he screamed. "Your dead!"

"Come with me Anakin," she said as she offered her hand out. "It is the only way."


End file.
